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The belief that athletes gain an advantage from wearing red outfits in combat sports has recently been called into question by a new study.
In sports like boxing, taekwondo, and wrestling, competitors are assigned either red or blue uniforms at random. Research conducted in 2005 suggested that wearing red might increase the chances of winning in Olympic combat sports, especially in tightly contested matches, but this idea hadn’t been thoroughly examined across various tournaments until now.
A team of psychologists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Northumbria University collaborated with researchers from Durham University, who initially studied the red advantage, to analyze the hypothesis over sixteen significant international tournaments.
The researchers employed advanced data analysis methods to evaluate the results of more than 6,500 competitors from seven Summer Olympic Games and nine World Boxing Championships that occurred from 1996 to 2020.
The results indicated that athletes dressed in red won 50.5% of their matches, revealing that the color of their uniforms had no considerable impact on their success. In closely contested bouts, those in red secured victory 51.5% of the time, which still did not indicate a statistically meaningful bias.
Interestingly, the study showed that before 2005, the red-clad athletes did have some advantage; they won 56% of close matches.
The researchers believe that since 2005, the advantage of wearing red has diminished due to advancements in point-scoring technology and alterations in tournament regulations.
The study’s findings have been published in Scientific Reports.
Leonard Peperkoorn, a social psychologist at VU Amsterdam, stated, “The decline of this advantage is probably due to modifications in tournament rules. In earlier days, referees held more influence over scoring, whereas now, technological support and clarified regulations mean there is less ambiguity in point allocation. As a result, combat sports are achieving a more equitable competitive environment.”
“This analysis is significant as it encompasses multiple tournaments,” said Professor Thomas Pollet, who is an expert in human behavior and social relationships at Northumbria University and co-author of the study. “Our assessment across many events suggests there is minimal evidence to support that the so-called red advantage is a significant factor in elite combat sports today.”
Professor Russell Hill and Professor Robert Barton from Durham University’s Department of Anthropology, who led the original 2005 study, participated in this new research to maintain consistency in data gathering and analysis.
Professor Hill remarked, “There has been substantial interest in the red advantage since our initial findings. While athletes in red used to enjoy a potential benefit, this comprehensive analysis indicates that changes in rules and the heightened awareness of clothing color’s influence since 2005 have diminished its effect in combat sports.”
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